It has come to the attention of LEED staff and the Energy & Atmosphere Technical Advisory Group that there is some confusion over EAc5 and how it is being awarded during LEED certification review. The following Administrative CIR is posted by LEED staff to provide additional guidance to project teams as to the requirements of M&V activities for successful EAc5 achievement.
While the IPMVP describes specific actions for verifying savings associated with energy conservation measures, LEED requirements go slightly beyond typical IPMVP requirements. The stated intent of LEED M&V requirements is to provide for the ongoing accountability and optimization of building energy consumption over time. This stated intent clearly indicates that M&V activities are not to be confined only to energy systems where energy conservation measures (ECMs) have been installed. The IPMVP provides detailed guidance as to the appropriate application of M&V strategies - these strategies should be appropriately applied to all energy systems such that monitoring and trend logging can be used to ensure performance of energy systems over the life of the building. As such, appropriate M&V plans for EAc5 should include M&V strategies for all energy systems listed in the credit requirements language of LEED-NC v2.1. The continuous metering requirement has been interpreted for LEED credit compliance purposes to include regularly occurring spot metering planned as part of on-going M&V activities. Regularly occurring spot metering should only be applied in context for appropriate energy systems.